The Whole Package
by torzi-bom
Summary: AU Java Junkie fic. Luke and Lorelai are married and have four kids. But not everything is picture perfect. A secret and a longheld grudge may tear this family apart. Please R&R! [CHAPTER 10 UP NOW]
1. 3 months after the birthday

_**Chapter 1 **_

_**A/N:** Hello my spankalicious friends! This is my third Gilmore Girls fic, and WOAH is it AU! Before I get started I think we should cover the facts:_

_Luke and Lorelai are married. They met when Rory was 9, and married when she was 10. They had their first child Daniel (Dan) a year later, then twin girls Jayne (Jay) and Amelia (Amie) three years later. They planned to stop at that, but then they were surprised with Matthew (Hew) an additional four years after that. Yes, it's complex! Rory is now 30 and married to Marty (I love him!) They have a 2 year old daughter, Lorelai (or as she is better known, Lori), Dan is 19 and about to go into his sophomore year at college, Jay and Amie 16, and Hew 12._

_This chapter doesn't explain much, granted, it's just a little test chapter and a snapshot into their lives. Please let me know what you think, and if I should continue!_

**3 months after the birthday**

Lorelai sat in the diner, quietly sipping her cup of coffee. She glanced at her watch. _Ugh. Late again._ She sat for a few more minutes before Rory came bursting through the door.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she called as she rushed over to the table and sat down quickly.

"Well you certainly took your time," Lorelai commented, with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"Sorry, Marty was home late, and Lori wouldn't go to bed," Rory said, letting out a deep breath and relaxing.

"Ah, living up to her name I see," Lorelai replied with a smile.

"Yeah, she's a true Lorelai."

"What'll it be tonight?" Dan asked as he approached his mother and sister, ordering pad in hand.

"Burgers, fries," Lorelai said.

"Coffee," Rory added.

"Oh yes and pie," Lorelai continued with a smile.

"Oooh pie, good idea," Rory commented. Dan just shook his head.

"Do you have any idea what all that crap is going to do to you?" he said disapprovingly, writing it all down. Lorelai touched his arm with a loving smile.

"Oh, so like his father," she said in a playfully mesmerised voice. Dan slipped his arm out of her grip.

"Yeah, it'll be ready in a sec," he replied before walking off into the kitchen.

"So, how's things?" Lorelai said, trying to initiate conversation.

"Um… fine. You?" Rory replied, generically.

"Pretty good. Luke finally sold the old truck, Dan's back at college in three weeks, and Amie and Jay are doing fine… and Hew… well, he's just Hew," Lorelai said with a chuckle.

"Speak of the devil," Rory mumbled as Matthew (or rather 'Hew' as he was known to his family) came bursting through the diner door disrupting all the customers. Luke saw this from the kitchen and sighed angrily.

"Hew!" he yelled in aggravation.

"What? Yeah, sorry, sorry," Hew said distractedly before rushing over and sitting down next to Lorelai. She chuckled at his slightly irrational, yet Hewish behaviour.

"What's the rush for matey?" she said, playfully screwing up his hair. He quickly fixed it.

"Kirk Jr. just dropped Kirk's video camera, and he's crying," Hew said with a huge smile across his face.

"Kirk Jr's crying?" Rory asked.

"No, Kirk," Hew replied. He craned his neck to try and see them through the window.

"Aww, I wanna see!" Rory complained.

"Nah, they're gone now," Hew replied, as Luke approached the table with Lorelai and Rory's burgers.

"Two burgers," Luke said, placing them down on the table.

"Thanks Luke," Rory said with a smile.

"Coffee?" Lorelai prompted.

"Yeah, it's coming, it's coming hold your horses," Luke replied, gesturing towards Dan who was standing at the counter. He quickly came over and poured the girls their coffee. Hew looked up at Luke expectantly.

"Can I have some coffee dad?" he asked hopefully.

"No."

"Oh! Why not?!"

"Because you're only 12," Luke replied.

"What! That's not fair! Rory had her first cup at eight!" Hew protested.

"That's only because I wasn't around to prevent it," Luke replied.

"And because coffee is sooooo good," Lorelai said, rubbing it in Hew's face. Hew pouted. She sipped her cup slowly and made yum noises.

"Lorelai, you can stop teasing him now," Luke said, standing with his arms crossed. It was now Lorelai's turn to pout.

"Oh, but it's so much fun!"

"I'm going back to the kitchen," Dan said, quickly trying to head away from this situation.

"Yeah… I think I need to get away from these crazy ladies," Luke said, rolling his eyes slightly. Hew coughed, demanding acknowledgement. "Oh yeah, and Hew," he added before walking back to the kitchen.

"Yes… some recognition might be nice," Hew mumbled under his breath. Before another word could be said at the table, Amie and Jay came silently through the door, Jay heading straight for the kitchen and Amie walking over to the table. Amie immediately grabbed Rory's coffee and took a big long sip.

"Ahhh…" she sighed, "good stuff."

"Where were you two guys?" Lorelai asked.

"Jay was at Gypsy's and I was at Kate's house," Amie replied, still happily downing Rory's coffee. "Is it alright if I sleepover there tonight?"

"Yeah sure, knock yourself out," Lorelai replied, taking Rory's coffee out of Amie's grasp and handing it back to it's rightful owner.

"Can I stay over at Robbo's?" Hew asked hopefully.

"Ah, no," Lorelai replied.

"Why not?" Hew pouted.

"Because 'Robbo' needs to get a new name," Lorelai said with a smile. "And besides you have softball tomorrow morning, you need to be up early."

"Early?"

"Earli…er than when we usually wake," Lorelai relpied awkwardly. "Ah… I dunno when you're meant to wake up for these things, dad'll get you up."

Luke came out of the kitchen briskly and walked directly over to Lorelai, with Jay lagging not far behind.

"She wants a car," he said, arms crossed and obviously strongly disagreeing with this notion.

"What?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"_Jayne_ wants a car for her birthday," Luke said, his jaw jutting out in disapproval.

"Ooh she's in trouble, you can always tell she's in trouble when dad calls her Jayne," Amie whispered across the table to her brother.

"Jay, sweetie, as much as we love you and your obsession with cars, you're not getting one for your birthday," Lorelai replied.

"Why not?!" she probed.

"Well, because number one; you haven't got your license yet, and number two; you're not getting a car," Lorelai said quickly. Jay just folded her arms across her chest, not unlike Luke, and stared at the ground.

"Well maybe if Amie hadn't have broken my leg, I would have my licence by now," she muttered under her breath. This did not go unnoticed by Amie.

"Hey!" she said, swivelling around on her chair, "it was an accident, okay? And your leg's healed now anyway, why don't you just go out and get your licence now?! No need to get all snappy and bitchy with me!"

"Okay, we're in the diner here, do you want to save this fiasco until we get home?" Luke said in an angry whisper, trying to turn down the volume of the conversation. Jay just turned on her heel and stormed out of the dinner.

"Jay, wait!" Luke called after her, but she had already run halfway across the town square. "Dammit why does she have to run so fast?"

_**A/N: **Well, that was chapter one. Short, I know, but… yeah. lol! Please review and let me know what you think, I'm not sure whether I should continue this story! Come on, do it! Hit that review button! You know I love it when you do ;)_


	2. 3 months after the birthday

_**Chapter 2**_

_**A/N: **I'm back! Thanks for the reviews guys! You're all so wonderful! I'm very happy with the feedback I've got one this one, so I'm still writing it! Now, it's a little hard to get your head around, the time sequences are disjointed, so it goes back and forwards quite a lot. You will need to concentrate!_

_**ProFfeSseR:** thanks for the review!_

_**ALIASobsessed89:** tis continuing!_

_**That70slover:** there's not really much L/L stuff in this chapter, but the next one has some!_

_**muse-of-the-fairies:** excellent (rubs hands together a la mr burns)_

_**Natalia DeLuca:** ooh! Hi! You're the girl that writes the really good Emily fics! Hehehe thanks for the review!_

_**Bella:** glad to know you're reading!_

_**controversy-queen:** more coming your way…_

_**freecityy:** thanks! I love the names too! Especially Hew… it's so bizarre! :p_

_**ocdwithlhg:** more coming soon!_

_**Kimmers:** Different is my speciality ;) oh! DIRTY!_

_**cookiecutter:** your review has inspired me to take on the take that I am taking on now! (wow, I think I'm beating Luke's 'how many times you can say 'fax' in a sentence' with 'take'!!)_

_**x.kromediva.x:** lol I know what you mean!_

_**Emma-Lizzy-Black:** thanks!_

_Well, thanks for the shouts guys! Now, this chapter begins where we last left of…_

**3 months after the birthday**

Lorelai sat in the kitchen late that night, sipping on a cup of coffee and reading the Stars Hollow Gazette. She wasn't really _reading_ it, just flicking through. She heard the front door open and smiled to herself. _That must be Luke and Jay_. But they weren't the ones who appeared in the kitchen doorway. Instead, it was Dan.

"Oh, hey," Lorelai said, turning her head to smile at him. Dan walked over to the table and put his keys on it, before sitting down.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Hew is in bed, Amie is at Kate's and Jay is still out. Coffee?" Lorelai asked, holding the coffee pot up.

"Is dad home?" Dan asked.

"Not yet."

"Sure, why not," Dan replied, and Lorelai grabbed another coffee mug and poured him some. He took a sip and sighed. Lorelai thought that Dan couldn't possibly be anymore like his father, but when he drank coffee she knew that he was her son too. They had often compared photos of Dan and Luke at the same age and been hard pressed to find a difference.

"So where _is_ dad?" Dan asked, taking another, slightly larger sip and cradling the mug in his hands.

"He's out with Jay, trying to talk to her," Lorelai sighed. "Things just seem to be getting worse between her and Amie. I wish I knew what was happening." She looked down into her coffee.

"I can try and find out," Dan offered. Lorelai smiled at his suggestion.

"Thanks, but you've already tried that."

"Yeah, I know," he replied. They sat quietly for a minute, both just sipping their coffee.

"Pizza should be here soon," Lorelai commented, easing the coffee cup up to her lips.

"Mom," Dan said disapprovingly, "Pizza? At this time of night?"

"It's got pepperoni," Lorelai offered with a small grin.

"Oh," Dan replied, "well that's a different story." Dan took one last sip of his coffee and went to the sink to rinse it out. Just as he put it in the dishwasher, they heard the front door open. Both Lorelai and Dan turned to see Luke come inside.

"Where's Jay?" Lorelai asked, concerned. Luke sighed and sat down at the table where Dan had been sitting.

"She's staying with Rory and Marty tonight," he replied solemnly. Lorelai frowned.

"Did you get a chance to talk to her?" Lorelai asked.

"A little," he replied, taking off his baseball cap and running his hands through his hair.

"And?" Lorelai prompted. Luke shifted in his chair, and Dan, noticing the slight awkwardness, excused himself.

"Ah… I'm gonna go to bed. Been a busy day – and I gotta open tomorrow," he said, referring to the diner.

"Mkay, night hun," Lorelai said as Dan gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Night. Night dad," he said, placing his hand firmly on his dad's shoulder before moving on upstairs. Lorelai let out a breath.

"So?" she prompted.

"She didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. She didn't say much at all really. But you know, that's Jay," he replied.

"Hmm," Lorelai pondered.

"She just told me that things had been strained since… you know, and that she didn't really want to talk about it. She asked Rory if she could stay with her, Rory said yes as she always does, and that was that," Luke said, fiddling with his baseball cap.

"I just wish one of them would talk to us," Lorelai replied.

"I know."

"It's just not that easy."

"I know."

**3 weeks before the birthday**

Jay ran, her feet pounding against the asphalt on a cool March morning. She loved it when the weather was bitey and no one was up yet. It was just her, the road, and the rising sun. The only sounds coming from the occasional bird, making its early morning call. She rounded the corner and jogged passed the library, making a mental note to go there that afternoon after school and borrow that book Rory had recommended to her. She didn't usually like to jog around the centre of town, she just stuck with the housed streets – they were quieter, and something about them made her feel more comfortable. But today she had an excuse to run through town.

**3 months before the birthday**

"You up for movie night tonight?" Amie asked her sister as they walked to the bus stop after breakfast at Luke's.

"Yeah sure. Do you have anything in mind?" Jay replied, scrunching up her nose as she felt it starting to freeze off.

"Casablanca?" Amie offered. Jay rolled her eyes.

"Not AGAIN, we've had THREE classics movie nights in a row!" she protested.

"But we know mom loves it, so we can't go wrong like we did last time," Amie replied.

"Yeah, we know not to get Breakfast at Tiffany's anymore."

"I don't understand WHY she doesn't like it," Amie said, sitting down and putting her bag next to the bench.

"Because it makes her cry too much and she hates crying in movies in front of Hew," Jay replied, also sitting and putting her bag down next to the bench.

"Another 'why'," Amie added.

"Why are you directing these questions at _me_?" Jay asked, confused.

"I dunno, you answered the last one," Amie said nonchalantly, tucking her long, this morning slightly tangly, light brown curly hair behind her ears and looking around. Her gaze stopped on a boy sitting on a bench not too far from them, who looked to be about her age, maybe a year or two older, with shaggy brown hair, hunched over a book. The book was worn and ragged – someone had done a lot of reading with this one.

"Hey look, it's that guy again," Amie said, gesturing in the direction of the boy who she had seen from a distance a few times before.

"Oh… ah… yeah," Jay replied, glancing at him quickly before looking down at her gloved hands, suddenly finding them extremely fascinating.

"We should go over to him," Amie suggested cheekily, still looking at him but directing her words to Jay.

"What!" Jay protested, "Are you crazy?!"

"What's so crazy about that?" Amie questioned, finally turning her gaze to Jay.

"You don't even _know_ him!" she hissed.

"So? I think he's fascinating…" Amie cooed, turning back to look at him.

Jay looked back down to her lap and fiddled with the hem of her skirt. "He's just a boy."

**4 months before the birthday**

It was a cold night, but the room was hot. Heat emitted by dozens of sweaty moving bodies, all compacted into one small space. He was finding it hard to breathe; all he got when he opened his mouth was a breathful of hot, second-hand air from some person he had never met before. His eyes wandered around the room, searching for someone that he recognised, but no-one seemed to register in his memory. His eyes glanced past a girl in jeans and a tight black tank top, obviously well adjusted to the heat of the room but unaffected by the outside cold, with long curly brown hair falling messily down below her shoulders. She was surrounded by a group of guys, all of whom were obviously mesmerised by her. She was gorgeous, he had to admit it. They all watched her, as though if they looked away they'd die. She was obviously flirting with one of the taller guys in the group, the giddy smile on his face a dead give away. His eyes continued gazing over the crowd until they landed on a girl sitting alone in the corner, her head buried in a book. She was sitting on a small couch-chair, her knees hugged up to her chest, biting her thumbnail in deep concentration. Someone bumped her arm as they moved passed, and she looked up. He had to do a double-take. He looked back at the previous girl he had seen, and then back at her. He was right – they looked exactly the same. Except this girl wasn't in clothes inappropriate to the outside weather, and her hair was pulled back in a low loose ponytail, only a few traces of make-up on her face. Her eyes briefly followed the person that bumped into her before she readjusted her legs and little and went back to her book. Something about her made him just watch her. She was escaping, like he wanted to. He didn't know anyone at this party, and all he wanted to do was go into his own little world.

After a moment of hesitation, he cut his losses and pushed through the crowds of people and over to her. She didn't see him when he stood right in front of her.

"What'cha reading?" he asked, his hands shoved into his pockets. She jumped a mile high in her seat, obviously surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Oh, ah, nothing," she said with a shy smile on her face, closing her copy of _Sophocles' Antigone_ and putting it on the chair. The book's title didn't go unnoticed.

"You into ancient Greek stuff?" he asked, gesturing towards the book.

"What? Ah, no, not really, it's for school," she replied, her voice still as shy as before.

"Oh," he replied. They were quiet for a moment, just a bit of gaze avoiding. He nervously ran his hand through the right side of his wavy brown hair that desperately needed the attention of a hairdresser.

"I'm Tom," he said, breaking the silence. Well, the silence between _them_. In reality, the room was far from it.

"I'm Jay," she replied, a small, genuine smile growing on her face.

_**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed! I'm tending to focus a lot on Jay at the moment… don't know why… I just like her I spose! Let me know if you like her too, review please!_


	3. 5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 15 minutes...

_**Chapter 3**_

_**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews guys! Little bit confused why half of them are for chapter 1 not 2… maybe the chapter didn't show on the site or something (I hate it when that happens!) but it doesn't matter! You read, I am happy! Hehehe! Anyway, sorry this has taken so long, I've had it written but I just like keeping ahead, and well… I didn't realise how far ahead I actually was! I know it's weird – in fact, really weird – but just stick with me here! It is confusing now, but eventually things will piece together and you will be able to better understand what's happening! There is some JJ goodness in this chapter (not much though), and yes, I know I plugged this story as a Luke & Lorelai one, but I'm really into the other side of the story right now with the whole Jay/Amie thing and what's happening there. Don't forget, your constructive criticism is always accepted and encouraged!_

**_ProFfeSseR_**_ well… ah… um… maybe… lol! _

_**jAvA cRaZy:** tis continuing, thanks for the review!_

_**RoryJess4evea:** thanks for the review!_

_**Miss-Lionesse:** More family scenes coming your way… thanks for the CCs about personality and stuff, I'm sure things will be much better explained in up coming parts (maybe not this one… but I think the next one does!) I wouldn't say Dan is 'afraid' of his father… he's like Luke in pretty much everyway, except he has pizza and coffee and stuff with Lorelai, but doesn't want Luke to know about it (coz everyone else in the family likes junk and coffee too!)_

_**controversy-queen:** things shall be explained as we go… you'll just have to wait and see what's happening with Tom!_

_**YellyBelly:** not too much LL, sorry, but please keep reading!_

_Anyway, on with the story! Keep reading my darlings, it keeps me alive!_

****

5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 15 minutes after the birthday

A breath. A sigh. A forgotten memory. They watched each other as their footsteps echoed in the empty hall.

**2 days before the birthday**

Lorelai ran frantically about the house, busily trying to organise everything. She had a million things to do and no time to do them in.

"Mom, where are my sneakers?" Hew asked, as Lorelai rushed around the living room, desperately trying to clean it.

"Probably on the lawn from when you kicked them out the window," Lorelai replied without even having to turn around. Hew made his way outside.

"Mom, have you seen my school jumper?" Amie asked, stepping into the living room.

"Try the laundry," she replied blindly, attempting to stack the magazines neatly. Amie hurried off in the direction of the laundry. Lorelai continued stacking but then cut herself short.

"Wait? What am I doing?" she muttered, "my mother wouldn't even want to _see_ these magazines." She picked them up off the coffee table and opened the cupboard under the stairs, quickly putting them in with other items that had accumulated in that cupboard, away from the prying eyes of her mother, over the years. Lorelai still didn't understand why she let Emily Gilmore get to her so much, but she rarely ever saw her, and whenever she did Emily had a fresh batch of criticisms ready. Last time she had been over, Hew had been playing soccer with his friends, and had come home with a rip in his shirt, and covered with mud, leaving muddy footprints through the entranceway and in the living room. _"How can you let your children dress and behave like hoodlums off the street?!"_ Lorelai shuddered at the recollection of her mother's previous accusation. She definitely did _not_ want a repeat of that.

"Lorelai, what are you doing?" Luke asked as he came down the stairs, adjusting his baseball cap.

"How can you ask me 'what am I doing'? Is it not obvious?! My mother is coming over, Luke. My _mother_! You remember what happened last time?!"

"Yes, of course I remember what happened last time," Luke defended, "but you don't need to start rushing around trying to make everything perfect, it's crazy."

"See, this is what she does to me – this is what she does to me! She makes me crazy, Luke! CRAZY!" Lorelai ranted, rushing around primping things with no obvious purpose. "She comes in here with her fancy attitude and her nose 10 feet in the air, and she criticises everything she can, finding opportunities wherever she can to belittle my existence and my being."

"I think you're being overly dramatic," Luke replied, folding his arms across his chest.

"Overly dramatic?! OVERLY DRAMATIC?!" she retorted loudly.

"Okay, is there going to be any end to this drama queen act soon, or do we all have to buy earplugs?" Amie said as she came out of the laundry, pulling her school jumper on. "It's just Grandma."

Lorelai chuckled falsely. "Oh, yes, I forgot, it's _just_ Grandma. _JUST_ Grandma. How silly of me. How foolish of me." Amie rolled her eyes at this response and continued heading to her room.

"Lorelai," Luke warned, approaching her calmly, "everything will be fine. She'll come over, she may say one or two things, but you won't let them get to you. Her opinions on our life don't matter, remember what we talked about?"

Lorelai sighed and plonked down in the couch. "Ugh, how can you _always_ be right? Isn't there some sort of rule against that or something?" she sulked. Luke sat down next to her.

"Well, some things you just can't teach," he said with a hint of cheekiness in his voice. Lorelai smiled at this. She snuggled into his shoulder.

"I love you, you know that?" she said, happily.

"Why yes I do. And I just happen to love you too," he replied, kissing the top of her head. She moved her head up to look at him and placed a kiss on his lips. He held her face gently, and she smiled through it.

"Ewww, there are children here!" Hew protested as he entered the room. Luke rolled his eyes as he and Lorelai broke apart.

"Okay, I'm off to school," Amie said as she walked towards them, swinging her backpack onto her back.

"Bye sweetie," Lorelai said, as Amie headed towards the door.

"Hew, come on," Amie said, irritated, gesturing to Hew.

"What about Jay?" he asked.

"She opened the diner this morning," Luke replied.

"Oh."

"She's meeting me at the bus stop," Amie added.

"Mkay," Hew said, following his sister out the door.

"Don't forget to buy me lots of presents while I'm at school today!" Amie called back in the direction of her parents, as an afterthought, as she exited through the door.

**3 weeks before the birthday**

"I've got it," Jay said, turning the corner to Gypsy's, slowing her jogging pace and pulling a CD out of her pocket waving it in the air as she approached Tom, who was fixing something in the trunk of a car.

"Got what?" he asked, turning around and wiping his hands.

"How can you ask me 'what'? It's all I've been talking about for the last month!" Jay replied, stopping and leaning against the hood of the car as she approached Tom.

"Ah, yes, the album."

"That's right, the album. PJ Harvey's 'Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea'. Yes, it's old but it is goooood!" Jay said a smile on her face, gently tapping the CD case. Tom took it from her hands and looked at it.

"How long did it take to get here?" Tom asked, studying the case.

"Umm, well… let's see… I ordered it a few Mondays ago… so… about 12 days," Jay replied with a satisfied smile, taking the CD back from Tom.

"Not bad," he contemplated, "well, when you're all Polly Jeaned out, I wanna have a listen."

"I don't think it's possible to listen to enough PJ Harvey," Jay replied, now looking at the CD and smiling triumphantly.

"But there is still a missing ingredient in my collection," she pouted.

"Oh, and what's that?" Tom enquired playfully.

"'Uh Huh Her'. In hindsight I probably should have got that one first, but they were out of stock," she said, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"Well, now I know what to get you for your birthday," Tom replied. Jay blushed slightly.

"Ah, yes, my birthday," she replied, looking at the ground, shuffling her feet.

"What's the matter, not looking forward to it?" Tom asked, unnecessarily stepping a little bit closer to Jay.

"Nah, well… I dunno. It's my birthday, and birthdays are fun, right?"

"But…?"

"But, Amie always seems to take over it, so there's no real point me trying to get too much input," Jay replied shyly, recalling all the other years when Amie had chosen party themes, and birthday cakes all because Jay was a little too shy, and a little too passive to make a noise about it.

"Of course there's a point, it's your birthday too. And you guys are like best friends, I'm sure she'll understand," Tom replied, placing a caring hand on Jay's upper arm. She noticed this and smiled to herself.

"Thanks," she replied. They stood there for a moment, faintly smiling at each other, his hand still resting on her upper arm. They looked into each other's eyes and scooted a little closer to each other, not really sure what they were doing. Both tilted their heads to the side slightly, moving slowly closer, inch by inch, so that they're lips were micrometres apart. They were just about to lean in the full distance and kiss when –

"Tom, have you started on Mr Wilson's car?!" Gypsy called loudly as she came out of the shop into the driveway. Tom and Jay instantly jumped miles apart as she approached them.

"Oh, you have, excellent," Gypsy noted. Tom and Jay both stared at the ground incessantly, their cheeks bright shades of red.

"Morning Jay," Gypsy said, looking at Jay with a small smirk on her face. She knew exactly what was going on.

"Hi Gypsy. Um… Tom… I gotta keep going, I'll see you later," Jay said quickly before jogging off.

"Bye," Tom replied, his words lost on her as she was already miles away.

_**A/N: **Well, that's chapter 3! Sorry if you got confused – any questions, please ask. And please, please, PLEASE review, I know it's the holidays and I know you probably can't be stuffed, but it's the only way I know that people are reading my stuff. Don't be deterred by the weird time changes, review and tell me they're weird! Anything! Even just say hi! Anything! I'm a desperate soul! Make a girl happy on Christmas!_


	4. 4 weeks after the birthday

_**Chapter 4**_

_**A/N: **yay! Lots more reviews! hehehe! I love reviews! Anyway, I've been getting into this fic a lot more recently, and I've written another part! Now, your reviews guys, are SO helpful – you shall not see the fruits of our hard working reviewing labour in this part (well, maybe your reviewing labour from parts a while ago), but you will in time, trust me! Seriously, your reviews make me a better writer, so thankyou!_

_**ProFfeSseR:** Thanks for loving the story! Two Christmas days, hey… intriguing! We don't have two, we just have Christmas day, then Boxing Day. It's all good! lol_

_**Miss-Lionesse:** why thankyou! I just can't decide of chapter names… so I put the time instead! lol! And, well, you never know how Lorelai will react… well, I do, coz it's my story… but anyway…!_

_**ALIASobsessed:** well, thanks for the review on this chapter!_

_**MM Vermelha:** hello new reviewer! Thanks for reading my story and taking the time to give me a little shout of encouragement, much appreciated! They should, yes. Just read to find out…_

_**Natalia DeLuca:** thankyou! I shall_

_**Meredith44:** You're right there Meredith, and your review has given me a lot of help, and an idea for a future part! So make sure you read chapter 5… I'm sure it will be nice and fulfilling for you! Lol_

_**that70slover:** once again, CC is helping me a whole heap! I hear what you're saying about not much Rory, so keep reading, she shall be popping up soon!_

_**Emma-Lizzy-Black:** keep reading! It will all fall into place soon._

_**controversy-queen:** confusing makes it all the better when it all finally clicks together!_

_**Emma:** your wish is my command…_

_Now, on with the story my darlings!_

**  
4 weeks after the birthday**

Dan just finished putting the last chair up in the diner for closing when he heard the door jangle. He looked up to see Beth standing in the doorway, smiling faintly.

"Hey," she said softly, frowning a little as she watched him.

"Hey," he replied, going to the counter and wiping it down, avoiding her gaze. She approached the counter and leaned against it, her mouth opening and shutting as she decided to say something then changed her mind.

"I… I'm sorry," she stumbled out, looking at Dan helplessly. He still refused to look at her. She sighed. "Dan, please, look at me." He refused to look up.

"Dan, please! I'm sorry for prying; I knew you didn't want to talk about it, but… I just kept persisting and I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," she begged. Dan stopped wiping, but refused to look up. He let out a deep breath.

"Why should I believe you?" he questioned. He'd been hurt before, and the last thing he needed was a reminder of it.

"Because I love you," Beth replied, her voice a little quieter than before. Dan's head shot up.

"I love you, okay? And… I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but I do, and I'm sorry if… I dunno, if that doesn't work for you. I just wanted you to know how I feel. I'm sorry," she said, turning around and walking towards the door.

"Beth, wait!" Dan called out, racing out from behind the counter and stopping her just as she reached the door. He turned her by the arm and looked into her tear-filled eyes.

"You're not the one who should be sorry. I am. I was just being uptight and a prick and I should've trusted you enough to talk to you," he said, running his right hand through her hair gently. She smiled back at him through her tears.

"Oh yeah," he added, "and one more thing. I love you too." This brought a chuckle to Beth, and he leaned in and kissed her sweetly.

**2 months before the birthday**

Hew sat at a table in the diner by himself, slowly savouring the taste of his burger. His dad hated it when he had burgers, he said 'that was a Gilmore women thing, and he shouldn't involve himself in it'. He didn't care, he liked burgers, but more than that, he liked coffee. And he was _dieing_ for some. But of course, as long as his dad was serving him, it would never happen. Hew had tried it on Dan, but Luke had told him not to give Hew coffee.

"You want another soda?" Dan asked Hew as he approached the table.

"Coffee?" Hew asked helplessly. Dan rolled his eyes.

"Dad's here you know. In the kitchen. You could at least wait until he's not within a 20 metre radius before you start asking for coffee," he replied, taking Hew's glass. "Coke?" Hew nodded.

Dan went off to refill Hew's soda, and just as he did so, _she_ entered. That's right. Hew's mortal enemy. The tall, blonde, skinny, scrawny, Larissa Doose. She spotted Hew and walked over to him, flicking her hair behind her shoulder.

"Hello Matthew," she greeted, rather coldly. For an 11 year-old girl, she sure knew how to play the ice queen.

"Larissa," Hew scowled back. If there was one thing in the world he hated, it was Larissa Doose. It was then he noticed the posters in her hands.

"What's that?" Hew enquired, rather rudely.

"Posters for the Spring Festival," she replied, her nose moving higher into the air, if it was possible.

"What? You think my dad will put one of those stupid things up in his diner?" Hew spat.

"He may surprise you," Larissa replied coolly, strutting over to the counter. Geez, Hew hated her. Especially when she walked like that. She leaned against the counter and clicked her fingers at Dan, who had his back to her, refilling a pot of coffee.

"Excuse me?" she called, as if she had been waiting for hours. Dan turned around, and noticing who it was, scowled inwardly.

"Is Mr Danes about?" she asked, her lips pursed tightly. Dan jutted his jaw out in aggravation.

"Dad, Larissa _Doose_ wants to see you," he called in the direction of the kitchen. A few seconds later Luke came out.

"What's he sent you to do this time, Larissa?" Luke asked, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Who? Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about Mr Danes," she said coyly.

"Don't get smart with me, what did Taylor send you for?" Luke asked again.

"Grandpa didn't send me to do anything," she replied, still trying to maintain her act. Luke simply gave an angry stare and she caved.

"He wants you to put a poster up in your diner for the Spring Festival," Larissa replied submissively, putting her small stack of posters up on the counter. Luke let out an aggravated grunt and rolled his eyes.

"I've said it every year, and I'll say it again now. It's not happening," Luke replied.

"But -"

"No buts! Take your posters," Luke picked them up from the counter and handed them to her, "and go tell your grandpa where he can put them!"

"Dad!" Dan protested, shocked at what Luke had said to the girl.

"Sorry," Luke apologised, "tell him it's the same answer as it is every year." Larissa nodded and smiled weakly before quickly running out of the diner. Hew saw this and smirked, Luke walked back into the kitchen muttering something about 'Taylor and his stupid posters', and Dan went back to the coffee pot. The afternoon lull had hit, but he decided to keep a fresh pot on, just in case his mother turned up. He heard the bell jingle as someone opened the door, and he smiled and looked up, expecting it to be her. Instead, it was a girl who looked around his age, pretty, with straight medium brown hair that fell below her shoulders, and as she walked closer to the counter he could see her deep brown eyes. She smiled at him and leaned up against the counter.

"Hi," she said, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear.

"Hi," he replied, smiling a little too giddily for his own liking.

"I'll just have a coffee to go thanks," she said, playing with her fingers slightly. Dan smiled and grabbed a to-go cup, filling it up with the fresh, hot coffee.

"I'm Beth," she said, accepting the cup from Dan.

"Dan," he replied with a smile. "Are you new around here? I haven't seen you before."

"Ah, yeah. I just moved here with my parents from New Jersey. They wanted to be closer to my mom's family. And, I'm just starting at Yale this semester, I transferred from Princeton," she said, suddenly getting the odd feeling that she was sharing a little too much with this stranger.

"Yale? That's cool, I go to Yale," Dan said, a silly smile starting on his face.

"Sophmore?" she asked.

"No, Freshman," he replied. She nodded and smiled.

"Me too. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around a lot then," she said, getting her wallet out of her purse.

"Oh, don't worry about it, first time customers are on the house," Dan said. Beth smiled in gratitude.

"Thanks. See you later," she replied.

"Yeah, nice meeting you."

**7 weeks after the birthday**

She stared out the car window, at the houses and trees as they flicked by. She wasn't staring at them; she was staring past them, daydreaming. She wasn't really thinking about anything in particular, just zoning out in general. Her mom was blabbing on about one thing or another, but she wasn't really paying attention.

"Jay. Jay!" her mom said, finally catching her attention. She snapped her gaze away from the window and turned her attention to Lorelai. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

"What? No, sorry, I was in another world," Jay replied.

"Obviously," Lorelai muttered. They were quiet for a minute, Jay no longer staring out the window, but just casually looking out the front of the car.

"You can start jogging again now. Not that I ever understood why you did in the first place," Lorelai pointed out, not turning to look at her daughter, just staring at the road.

"Yeah I spose," Jay replied. But in reality, jogging was the last thing she wanted to do right now. It reminded her of him.

"So what's the first thing you're gonna do with your cast off?" Lorelai asked with a smile.

"I promised dad I'd work a shift at the diner," she replied, sitting her elbow on the car door and resting her chin on her palm.

"Oh come on, you can't start off by working! We should go do something girly together that involves using your legs! Like… rollerblading… hang on, that isn't very girly… or… I dunno, I'm pretty stuck for ideas. You got any?" Lorelai said. Jay just shrugged in reply. They reached town and stopped at the only traffic light in town.

"Oh for goodness sake," Lorelai said, "there's _one_ traffic light in town, and it has to go red _now_! I wanna get home, Seinfeld repeats are on in 5 minutes!" They sat there at the lights for a while, and Jay turned her head to look out her window. Then she saw him. Walking down towards Doose's, his hands in his pockets. Her gaze fixated on him. She couldn't look away. They hadn't spoken in seven weeks, and she missed him. She watched him as he walked along, walking with direction, his messy brown hair moving around as he did so. He looked up for a minute and looked around. It only took a second for his gaze to find Jay's. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her, their eyes locking. It was at that exact moment that the light turned green and Lorelai surged forward with power. However, their eyes remained transfixed on each other until neither could see the other.

_**A/N: **hope you liked it! I think this could quite possibly be the first Gilmore Girls fan fic update for 2005… so go me! Review please!_


	5. 5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 20 minutes...

_**Chapter 5**_

_**A/N: **Not many reviews this time… :( I'm sad! I don't know how many people are reading this if you guys don't review! And when people stop reviewing, I tend to stop writing… hehehe its true! I'm having a hard enough time coming up with inspiration at the time as it is… school is gonna be back in less than a month (shudder) and I still have a bit of homework to do. (can you BELIEVE that?! I'm not even in year 11 yet, and they're already giving me homework!) Anyway, thanks to the guys that did review, it's people like you that make me happy!_

_**Meredith44:** hehehe I love the Danes/Doose conflict. I can just imagine Luke's kids and Taylor's grandkids having a real rivalry!_

_**ProFfeSseR:** we don't have thanksgiving over here… lol! I was very disappointed when I found out that said my story was updated last year! When I posted it, it was about 4pm on the 1st where I am! So… my dream has been left unfulfilled!_

_**Natalia DeLuca:** thanks for the CC, much appreciated! Watch out for some more Lorelai/kids stuff happening! Hehehe I like Jay… I don't know why… she's just fun to write about. And Hew… well, hehehe he's like a little male Lorelai!_

_**MM Vermelha:** wow… you're a little crazy… lol! Join the club! Your grammar seemed pretty alright to me in that review, maybe we should make an 'I hate grammar bashers' club?! Now what fun would it be to medicate you? lol! Thanks for the review, more story coming your way._

_**erilicious:** hmm… why do you seem so familiar? Lol! Thanks for the review eri! It seems we **both** now have too much time on our hands…_

_Anyway, for those of you that read it, 'What if…' will be pumping another chapter your way very shortly! And I can hear you saying 'really torzi? But it's been 3 weeks.. you've lied to us before… how will we know it's you?' hehehehe I'm having fun! On with the story!_

**5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 20 minutes after the birthday**

She could feel his hot breath hitting her cheek. Her bottom lip quivered and she stared into his eyes, millimetres away from her own. Goodbye wasn't as easy as she thought it would be.

**11:27pm on the night of the birthday**

He pressed her against the wall, running his fingers through her long hair. His fingers traced her hips as his lips roughly kissed hers. She delved her tongue into his mouth, tugging on his shirt, doing anything to pull him closer to her. His tongue played fiercely with hers, and he pushed harder into her, wanting nothing more than to get as close to her as possible. She snaked her arms around his neck holding his head, kissing him harder. He slid his hand under her top, running it across her stomach. She broke away from his mouth, her breathing hot and heavy. He moved his lips to her neck and kissed it intensely, and she tilted her head back allowing him better access. His tongue kissed her neck, sending shivers down her back and she moaned slightly, digging her fingernails into his back, pulling at his top. They pulled apart for a second; she smiled and kissed him squarely on the lips whilst pulling him towards her and the bedroom next to them.

**1 week before the birthday**

"Hew, can you move your shoes from the hallway please?" Lorelai asked, juggling little Lori on her hip.

"Why?" Hew said stubbornly, walking into the kitchen after kicking his shoes off in the hallway.

"Because Lori's favourite thing to do is trip over, at the moment!" Lorelai said, "and Sookie, Jackson and the kids are gonna be here in 10 minutes. We still need to go over stuff for the twins' birthday."

"What?" Hew said, "you're joking, right?"

"No I'm not joking, move your shoes," Lorelai said, pushing Hew towards where his shoes had landed.

"Move your shoes!" Lori mimicked, pointing to the shoes in question and giggling to herself.

"Is Davey coming?" Hew asked in a dead-pan tone, his frustration evident.

"That's what I mean when I say Sookie, Jackson and the kids, Hew," Lorelai said, still pushing her son.

"I don't have to play with him do I?" Hew whined, picking up his shoes.

"Yes you do. He's a nice kid!" Lorelai said.

"No he's not, he's a fruitcake! All he does is talk about cooking and Spiderman cartoons. And besides, he's friends with _Larissa Doose_," Hew spat.

"Matthew! You will be nice to Davey, wether you like it or not! Sookie is my best friend, and I don't want you picking on her son!" Lorelai argued.

"I don't pick on him!" Hew protested, "I just don't like having to be nice to him."

"That's sounds pretty close to me. Now go put your shoes in your room like a good little boy," Lorelai said, shooing him away. Hew rolled his eyes and sulked his way into his room. Lorelai looked at Lori who was happily propped up on Lorelai's hip, sucking her thumb quietly. Her short straight brown hair, after recently suffering a severe haircut, was just long enough to tie back in bunches – to Rory's delight – and it was the only hairstyle she sported these days. Lorelai chuckled to herself as she fussed over her granddaughter. Lorelai hated that word. She always said, "Emily Gilmore is a grandmother, not me".

"Honey, I'm home!" Rory called playfully as she came through the front door, laden with bags of food from Luke's. Lorelai walked out into the entranceway, still clutching Lori.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried out happily, her little arms grabbing forward. Lorelai put her down, and she toddled over to Rory quickly, grabbing her leg in a tight hug - but not before running over the exact spot where Hew's shoes had been only a minute earlier.

"Oh, sweetie, Sookie's bringing over food samples for Jay and Amie's birthday any minute!" Lorelai pointed out, gesturing to Rory's armful or burgers and fries.

"Yeah I know, but I assumed the Gilmore's would still be hungry," Rory said.

"Good assuming!" Lorelai replied approvingly, trying to pry Lori away from Rory so she could make her way to the kitchen. She hadn't walked two steps before everyone came rushing towards her.

"Cool, food's here!" Hew said, grabbing a bag from Rory and heading into the kitchen.

"Yummy, diner food!" Amie said as she came in, taking another bag from Rory's arms.

"Hi Rory," Jay said with a smile as she grabbed another bag and followed her brother and sister into the kitchen. Rory smiled at her now empty arms.

"Too easy," she said, now free to pick up her daughter. "Hello sweetheart!" she cooed. "Did you have fun with grandma?" Lorelai shot Rory a look of scorn, and she immediately covered her tracks. "I mean… ah… Lorelai?"

"We made Hew move his shoes," she reported, grinning widely.

"She's learning to exert power over men at a young age," Lorelai added.

"Good to know," Rory replied. The front door opened, and Lorelai and Rory turned to see who it was.

"Hey," Luke greeted as he and Dan walked through the door, also sporting bags from the diner.

"Hey, what are my boys doing home?" Lorelai asked, giving Luke a quick kiss.

"Well, we knew Rory was coming over, so we got Lane and Ceaser to cover for lunch," Dan said.

"Lane?" Rory questioned, "But she hasn't worked at the diner in years."

"Well, she was there, and she said she didn't mind working for me – she said something about there being too many boys at her house… I dunno," Luke replied.

"So we thought we'd come and eat with our women," Dan said with a nod.

"And Hew," Lorelai added.

"And Hew," Dan corrected.

"So why did you bring more food? I got plenty," Rory said.

"Not everyone likes to rot their insides with the kind of food you two eat," Luke replied, following Lorelai and Rory into the kitchen where everyone else was already halfway through all the food.

"So, ah, where's Marty?" Lorelai asked, as Luke and Dan started sorting themselves out with salads. Luke pushed Hew's burger aside and put a salad in front of his son instead, much to Hew's disapproval.

"Oh, he's watching the baseball with Dave. He said he has enough hungry Gilmore women at home without having to come over here during primetime chowdown," she chuckled. Lorelai smiled. It was nice to have a son-in-law that understood the Gilmore eating habits. She was a little bit sceptical about Marty to begin with – especially with the whole naked guy thing – but after a while she had grown to love him like he was her own son.

"He's a smart one, your man," Lorelai said, watching her daughter as she sorted some food out for Lori.

"Yeah, I know," Rory smiled, off in her own little happy world as she fussed over her daughter. Lorelai smiled as she watched her family. For the first time in a long time, everyone she loved was happy.

**5:30am on the day of the birthday**

Luke crept into Jay and Amie's bedroom quietly, being careful not wake Amie. He moved over to Jay's bed – which was thankfully on the other side of the room to Amie's – and nudged his daughter.

"Jay," he whispered, "wake up." Jay groaned and rolled over in her sleep.

"Jay," he said again, a little louder, and she woke up, rubbing her eyes. It was moments like this that he was thankful that she was a light sleeper, and her sister slept like a log.

"Dad, what are you doing? It's…" Jay rolled over to look at her clock, "5:30am!"

"Ssh," Luke said, "get up."

"Noooo, it's my birthday, let me sleep," she whined, rolling back over. "Mom was already in here at 2am, telling me that graphic story of my birth she insists on doing every single year."

"I know, just… get up," Luke said, nudging her again. Jay didn't move though. Luke sighed to himself. He knew Jay didn't really like her birthday much. Amie was much more confident and assertive, and Jay usually just went along with her ideas. He could tell Jay wasn't really up for the party they were having that night, she didn't like it when people made a big fuss over her – very much unlike her mother and sister. So Luke wanted to do something special for her. Just he and his oldest blood daughter – even if it only was by 23 minutes exactly.

"Why?" Jay groaned, snuggling closer to her pillow. '_I cannot, for the life of me, remember why I decided to love my dad_'. She groaned to herself, not enjoying this seemingly pointless early morning wake up call. Luke grabbed her arm and rolled her over to face him.

"Come on," he said, "father daughter breakfast."

"What?"

"Breakfast. You and me," Luke replied, "now get up, before you wake up Amie."

"Oh," Jay replied, surprised, and even a little confused, "okay." She got up and walked over to her wardrobe.

"Don't worry about getting changed," Luke said, moving towards the bedroom door, "we'll start a trend." Jay smiled as she noticed her dad's plaid pyjama bottoms and white t-shirt, similar to her own. She followed him out of her bedroom, and he grabbed her coat and his own out of the coat cupboard.

"Time for a private birthday breakfast at Luke's," he smiled, handing Jay her coat. He put on his own and walked towards the front door, gesturing for Jay to follow. She smiled. Now she remembered why she loved her dad so much.

_**A/N: **hehehehe that was fun! Now please, please, PLEASE review! It is my livelihood!_


	6. 1:54am 21 days after the birthday

_**Chapter 6**_

_**A/N: **hey! Thanks for all reviews guys, you know I love ya! Sorry it's taken so long… 2 weeks actually… but I still wasn't sure on the angle I was starting to take… so hopefully its not so bad now!_

_**ProFfeSseR:** well, it's all about the questions!_

_**ALIASobsessed:** don't you hate how the site CONSTANTLY goes screwy? Really irritates me…_

_**Meredith44:** really? What a coincidence! I love Luke too! Hehehe_

_**MM Vermelha:** pre-NC-17? How bizarre… I never actually thought of it like that… I hate that rating anyway, 'NC-17' what is that?! In Australia we have G, PG, M15, MA15 and R18! I would probably make in an M15 with sexual references. lol!_

_**Kimmers:** well, Luke IS a sweet guy… lol_

_**Natalia DeLuca:** trust me to name a character Jayne… that's my middle name! lol!_

_**Lnkz:** hello new reviewer! Thanks for taking the time to read my story and review it! Come again!_

_**controversy-queen:** absolutely! I was just thinking about adding more of them to the story!_

_Anyway… on we go! Don't forget to review on your way out!_

**1:54am 21 days after the birthday**

Amie snuck in through the front door as quietly as she could. She knew it was way past her curfew; she was meant to be home by midnight, but now, it was breaching on 2am. She hoped against hope that her mom had gone to bed, and that she could just quietly sneak into her room. She never intended to stay out this late; but she was with Michael Haywood, and she could never keep track of time with him.

She quietly sneaked into the kitchen, but stopped dead in her tracks when she found her mother, sitting at the table staring down into a cup of coffee. As soon as Lorelai noticed she was there, he head shot right up. Amie just wanted to spiel off and explain, but she couldn't find the right words.

"Where the HELL have you been?" Lorelai demanded.

"I… I was…" Amie stuttered.

"I told you to be home by midnight. Do you know what time it is?" she said, anger in her voice, although she did not move from her chair.

"Um…"

"It's almost 2am! That's 2 hours Amie! You had me scared to death!" Lorelai said.

"I… I'm sorry," she managed to slip out. Lorelai let out a sigh and wrapped her hands around her coffee.

"Sit down," she said calmly. Amie immediately sat down, without question. She knew she was in trouble.

"So what's going on with you?" Lorelai asked. Amie just stared at her blankly.

"You're always going out to parties and stuff, and you've missed your curfew by a long shot twice in the past three weeks. Is there anything you want to talk to me about?" Lorelai prompted.

"No," Amie replied coolly.

"Or any_one_?" Lorelai added.

"Mom!"

"What? It's a fair question! You're out most of the night… Amie, I need to know what's happening or I can't let you stay out so late like this anymore," Lorelai said. Amie let out a frustrated sigh.

"Why do you have to know exactly where I am all the time? I'm not two!" she spat out.

"Amie! I'm your mother! It's my responsibility to know where you are and what you're doing until you're 18! I mean, for all I know you could be trying to skip town!" Lorelai said dramatically. Amie looked down and fiddled with her fingers.

"Amelia, are you sure that nothing's going on?" Lorelai asked, concerned.

"Yes, I'm sure," Amie lied. As close as she was to her mom, she knew that she would have a heartattack if she found out what was going on.

"Then you're grounded," Lorelai answered.

"WHAT?!"

"Amie, if you're not gonna talk to me, then you're not gonna go out. End of story."

"But mom -"

"No buts! Either you tell me why you're so late, or you're grounded," Lorelai replied coolly.

"I just lost track of time, that's all," Amie said. There was truth in that.

"So you just didn't realise that two hours had passed," Lorelai said sarcastically.

"I didn't! Okay?! I'm sorry!" Amie replied, starting to raise her voice.

"That's it, you're going on the pill," Lorelai said, getting up out of her chair angrily and taking her coffee mug over to the sink to rinse out.

"What?! Where'd that come from?!" Amie replied.

"You're not gonna get pregnant like I did," Lorelai said angrily, rinsing out her cup viciously.

"Mom, I'm not -"

"And don't say you're not having sex Amelia Danes, because I know you are," she replied, still facing the wall and not turning around to look at her daughter. Amie was speechless. She couldn't form words.

"And I know you've been drinking, and smoking too. God, you're just like I was," Lorelai said, shaking her head.

"Mom, it's not like that!" Amie interjected, trying her best to get a word in.

"Then what _is_ it like?" Lorelai said, finally spinning around, hand on her hip. She just stood there, staring at Amie. And once again, Amie was speechless. Lorelai let out another sigh.

"How many?" she asked. Amie looked at her confused.

"What?"

"How many guys, Amelia?" Lorelai asked. Amie's jaw dropped open.

"It's none of your business!" she retorted.

"You're a minor. It _is_ my business!"

"Don't call me that!"

"What, a minor? Because that's what you are Amelia, you're 16 and you're still a minor!" Lorelai said, now her voice raising.

"But I'm not a child!"

"Well you're acting like one! You think drinking, and smoking, and sleeping with guys makes you an adult. But it doesn't! I know! That's what I used to think!" Lorelai said. Amie got up out of her chair.

"I'm not you! No matter what you think, I'm not you mom! I make my own choices I have my own opinions! You've got to stop assuming that I'm making the same mistakes you did!" Amie yelled.

"But can't you see, you are! That's exactly what you're doing. I don't want you winding up pregnant," Lorelai said.

"I'm not going to!"

"What makes you so sure?! I was sure I wasn't going to get pregnant!" Lorelai retorted.

"Well we used protection!"

"So did I! That didn't stop me from getting pregnant with Rory!" Lorelai yelled. Then there was silence. No one said anything for at least 30 seconds. They both stared at the ground, trying to compose their thoughts.

"Two," Amie said, almost so silently that it couldn't be heard.

"What?"

"Two guys," Amie replied, still staring at the ground. Lorelai looked up.

"Oh," she replied quietly, not knowing whether this was the answer she was looking for or not. Either way, she was glad Amie was opening up.

"Was one of them Jay's boyfriend?" Lorelai asked softly.

"What? Jay doesn't have a boyfriend," Amie replied.

"Well was it the guy she likes, then?" Lorelai asked. Amie shuffled her feet and exhaled. Things were so screwed up.

"It's hard to explain," she replied quietly.

"It's a yes or no question. Black or white."

Amie looked up and her eyes met her mother's. Everything was grey.

**8:32pm 20 days after the birthday**

"Bye Luke, see you at home," Lorelai called as she walked out of the diner. She'd had dinner by herself there, a very rare occurrence. Dan was still at college, Hew was at a friend's place for dinner, Jay was at home studying, Amie was at a party, and Rory and Marty had gone to visit Richard and Emily. Lorelai rounded the corner and started her walk home. She had decided against taking the jeep because it was making a funny clunky noise, and she didn't want to drive it until Gypsy, or at least Jay had taken a look at it. As she walked down the street, two teenage girls, about the age of Jay and Amie crossed the street and were walking a few metres ahead of her. It was a quiet night, and Lorelai didn't have to strain her ears to hear what they were talking about.

"I am so psyched about Mark's party tonight – Andrew Miller is gonna be there," the first girl said giddily.

"Oh, it's so obvious you two are gonna hook up," the second girl said, and the first one put a little skip in her step.

"I know! I have a feeling this party is gonna top Stacey Goodman's," the first girl smiled.

"It'll be pretty hard. You know Amie is gonna be there tonight," the second girl said dryly. Lorelai's ears immediately pricked up at a name that was likely to be her daughter's.

"Yeah, but it doesn't really count, because you know her and Michael are gonna be upstairs all night," the first girl replied. They both laughed and the second one slapped the first on the shoulder.

"Ugh, I'm _so_ sick of Amie Danes," the second girl spat, "she's such a slut." Lorelai's ears burned, and her teeth ground at this suggestion. She just wanted to slap the girl that said that about her daughter. She most definitely was _not_ a slut.

"I _know_," the first girl emphasised, "her and Michael Haywood are at it like frickin' rabbits!" The second girl roared with laughter at this.

"Oh, and that thing with Tom Ritter? _Not_ cool," the girl added once her laughter had died down.

"I am sick to death with hearing about that! It's all anyone has been talking about for the last three weeks. I mean, you gotta feel sorry for Jay, don't you," the first girl added, this time a little more sympathetically.

"She must hate her sister_ so_ much. I mean, I would," the second girl added.

"Ahuh, oh yeah. I mean, Jay is so… I dunno… like, quiet and all and I don't think she's even so much as _kissed_ a guy or touched a drop of beer, and her sister is like a smoking drunk. It's such a bad look," the first girl said.

"Oh my gosh, I know! Can't she see what she looks like?"

"Obviously not," the first girl replied, before turning the corner with her friend and walked out of ear shot. Lorelai just stopped dead in her tracks. It couldn't all be true. Her daughter was _not_ like that. But what if she was? Didn't she know her daughter at all? She thought they talked about stuff, and she thought she knew what was going on. It seemed, by what she had just heard, that she, infact, didn't know her daughter at all.

At all.

_**A/N: **Well… yes. Venturing into the unknown… please review and let me know what you think!_


	7. 5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 32 minutes...

_**Chapter 7**_

_**A/N: **I would like to be the first to say that this new ratings system FREAKS ME OUT! lol! I was reading a fanfic and I was like 'what the… why is this rated K? how awkward!' so now… yeah, I'm just a little confused by it all… I read what all the ratings mean, but I still don't like it. hehehe anyway…_

_Well, it's been over 2 months people… but I'm back! That's right! Back in business baby! I've had ideas just FLOWING for this story, and for a new one I'm thinking of doing… but yes, it's all very exciting! The updates won't be as frequent as they used to be back in the day, but I try my best (I'm still a busy little body with the school musical and my theatre studies performance and… oh! Its too much!) anyway, please enjoy… but first off, lets see if we can remember all the reviewers…_

_**ProFfeSseR:** ah, such a loyal reviewer! Your feedback is much appreciated, as always!_

_**Miss-Lionesse:** lol yep I'm touching on the big issues here… hehehe!_

_**ALIASobsessed89:** oh, cake would be marvellous thankyou! Do you have chocolate mud? Because that would be just scrumptious…_

_**that70slover:** aha! I'm not going to tell you who it was now… all shall be revealed later – but let's just say you will be surprised!_

_**Jamii:** thanks for the review! Keep 'em coming!_

_**Kimmers:** thanks for another review Kimmers 'ole chap!_

_**MM Vermelha: **lol yeah I got what you meant! Now I just have to get over these new freaky ratings…_

_**Natalia DeLuca:** hehe I knew the Emily think would catch your attention, Natalia! Thanks for the review!_

_**TruthFreedomBeautyLove:** yay aussie! wootage! Hehehe! Look out for the aussie girl in my new fan fic… (coming soon to a fan fic website near you… lol!)_

_**anjinho85:** not pathetic at all! I've done that with fics all the time! Well, my hiatus is officially over, so you can expect fan fics MUCH more frequently… thanks for the review!_

_**Gilmore Obsessed:** 'tis quite different… and of course I love Rory and Marty! Don't like that Logan fellow… hmph… lol! Thanks for the review!_

_Well, I think that's everyone… thanks for your feedback over the last 2 months guys, especially to those of you that read my one-shots! The thing I hate about them is there is no next chapter to thank my reviewers! But to those of you that read them… thanks! Hehehe!_

_ON WITH THE STORY!_

**5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 32 minutes after the birthday**

The room turned icy cold. Everything was still, frozen, unbearable. The silence screamed in her ears until she finally cracked and fell to the ground in a fit of tears. She reached out to touch him, but he wasn't there. He was gone.

**4:45am 21 days after the birthday**

Luke woke up to find his wife lying next to him, her body still and her eyes wide open. They were red, and her cheeks were blotchy. It was obvious she'd been crying. She stared at the ceiling, not noticing that Luke had woken.

"Lorelai, what's the matter," he asked, immediately concerned noticing her state.

Her gaze didn't move. Instead she spoke, "I don't know my daughter at all."

"What are you talking about?" Luke said, sitting up and taking Lorelai's hand in his. She still didn't move.

"Where did I go wrong, Luke. Where did I, as a mother, screw up so badly that she would do this," she said, her glassy eyes filling with tears.

"Lorelai, you have to tell me what happened," Luke urged, rubbing her hand softly. Her eyes flicked to Luke, the sudden movement taking him by surprise.

"She's gonna get pregnant," she said quietly.

"Who's pregnant?" Luke said, his eyes widening at the prospect. Lorelai shook her head and bit on her lip to stop its trembling.

"She's just like I was. Parties, booze…" it had taken a while, but Luke finally realised who she was talking about. Amie.

"I never thought my kids would be like that. I thought it had somehow managed to skip a generation. I thought I was a good parent -"

"Lorelai, you _are_ a good parent," Luke reinforced.

"No I'm not," she cried, "I'm a failure! But not you Luke, no, you're a good one. You made Jay turn out so good. And Rory too."

"You raised Rory by yourself for 9 years Lorelai, _you_ were the one that made her turn out so well," Luke said, moving his hand to her face and wiping her tears as she lay there. She shook her head.

"No, you were there Luke. You were there when it counted, when she was a teenager. You made her good. And I made Amie bad," Lorelai spat. All of this was upsetting Luke. He'd never seen Lorelai like this before, never in their 20 years of marriage. She was distraught.

"Amie's not bad," Luke commented, "she's just… a little troubled." Lorelai let out a cold laugh.

"Don't delude yourself. I did all that stuff when I was her age. I was a bad kid. I was trying to escape from my parent's world – but what's Amie trying to escape from? Our world?" Lorelai choked, overcome by tears. Luke lay down and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair as she cried into his chest.

"It's okay," he soothed, "things could be a lot worse."

"How?" Lorelai sobbed.

"Well at least she's not doing drugs. At that age, my sister smoke pot," he said, his eyes glazing over a little as he remembered all the times he had busted her and her friends.

"Oh my gosh," Lorelai cried, "what if she _is_ smoking pot?" Luke shook his head in response.

"She is _not_ smoking pot. I know it," he replied. Lorelai pulled back from his arms, her tears subsided as she wiped her eyes.

"We can deal with this," Luke said, staring into her eyes. She nodded.

"Come on," he said, brushing the hair out of her face, "you were always the strong one." This brought a chuckle to Lorelai.

"_Was_ being the keyword," she replied huskily.

"Come on, sit up," Luke ordered. Lorelai looked at him, puzzled.

"Sit up," he repeated. Lorelai obliged and pulled herself up to sit. She wiped her eyes and looked at Luke, who had sat up himself. He took her hands in his and looked straight into her eyes.

"You are a beautiful, kind, loving and strong woman. You are a fantastic parent Lorelai, seeing how good you were with Rory was one of the things that made me fall in love with you. You have done nothing wrong in raising our children, and no mistakes they make are your fault. Do you understand?" Luke said, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of Lorelai's hand. She nodded and he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"You're a little crazy sometimes, but I still love ya," Luke said playfully, causing Lorelai to laugh quietly.

**4 months before the birthday**

"I'm Tom," he said, breaking the silence. Well, the silence between _them_. In reality, the room was far from it.

"I'm Jay," she replied, a small, genuine smile growing on her face.

"So, ah… I don't want to sound ignorant… but whose party actually is this?" he asked somewhat sheepishly. Jay smiled.

"Sarah McGregor. Her parents are away in Hong Kong, so naturally, she threw a party," Jay replied. Tom chuckled.

"Is she at Stars Hollow High?" he asked.

"The one and only," Jay replied. Tom nodded.

"Is that where you go?" Tom asked hopefully. He felt relaxed with this girl, something he hadn't felt around anyone in Stars Hollow so far. But, unfortunately for him, Jay shook her head.

"I go to Chilton – it's in Hartford," she replied. Tom's face dropped and he let out an 'oh'. So much for making a new school friend.

"But I live 'round here," she added in quickly. "I'm guessing you're new to town?" Tom nodded.

"Moved here from Seattle a few weeks ago… I met a girl called Alex in Luke's diner last Thursday, and she invited me to this party… thought I may as well socialise… I can't seem to find her here anywhere though," Tom said, looking around to illustrate his point. Jay smiled at the mention of Luke's.

"There would be a reason you can't find Alex – she's probably out the back somewhere with Jamie Weston… her boyfriend," Jay said cautiously. She was surprised when Tom chuckled and didn't seem disappointed at all. Alex was a pretty girl, she wouldn't be surprised if he'd liked her. She noticed how awkward he seemed just standing there, so she sat on the arm of the couch and patted the opposite one, indicating for him to sit. He obliged with a faint smile.

"So umm… I don't really know anything about this town yet, I haven't really had time to look around… think you could give me a tour sometime?" Tom asked hopefully. "We could stop off at Luke's for lunch; the burgers seemed pretty good last time I went there." Jay smiled at another mention of Luke's.

"Sounds good. And," she replied in a hushed whisper, "I bet you anything I can get our lunch at Luke's for free."

Tom raised his eyebrows, "really?"

"Mmhmm," Jay replied, "I'm on good terms with the owner."

"Ah, small town charm," Tom replied, and Jay chuckled.

"Yeah, it helps that he's my dad," Jay added.

"Who is?" Tom asked, confused.

"Luke."

"Oh!" Tom laughed, "why didn't you say that before! Here's me going on about Luke's… and it's your dad's diner."

"Yeah, I work there too," Jay added. Tom laughed.

"Okay, now I feel like a real idiot," he said, face reddening slightly. Jay chuckled.

"Don't, I just like to tease," she said, and poked her tongue out a little. Tom smiled at her, but then quickly looked away, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He noticed the other girl that looked like Jay again, and she was kissing the tall guy from before, and all the other guys seemed to have disappeared.

"Is that your sister?" he asked, gesturing in her direction. Jay craned her neck to see what was going on and then rolled her eyes when she saw Amie and Michael Haywood necking in the corner.

"Yep, that would be Amie," Jay replied irritably.

"You and her seem very… different," Tom commented, choosing his words carefully.

"Well, we are. Personality wise, anyway. We pretty much look the same," Jay replied.

"Yeah I noticed that," Tom said, looking over at Amie again, but starting to feel uncomfortable, looking away just as quickly.

"We're still best friends though. She's just very… well… like that… at parties," Jay said, gazing over at Amie.

"The opposite of you," Tom commented.

"Well, yes," Jay chuckled, "I'm the good girl of the family."

Tom smiled cheekily, "good to know."

_**A/N: **Another random chapter from me… and it can only get better! Please take the time to review, it makes me happy! And… yeah that's all I can come up with. You can even flame if you want! I could do with a good laugh…_


	8. 5 years, 10 months before the birthday

_**Chapter 8**_

_**A/N: **hello again! Back with another chapter! Thanks for the reviews (not as many as I'd hoped for… but I suppose I'm preaching to the converted here!) Anyway, just a quick thanks to those that did:_

_**MM Vermelha: **ohhh the tests are never over my friend, their never over… I hope this chapter is long enough for you!_

_**Miss-Lionesse:** We'll see how we go with 'What if…' inspirations is currently striking for other fics… thanks for the review!_

_**ProFfeSseR:** nice to know I have such a loyal reviewer…_

_**X-Mas in July:** ohhhhhh it is nice to be back… thanks for the review!_

_**fandomsareloveGG:** thanks!_

_**gilmoregirlfreak:** will do, thanks for the review_

_**marva:** quite frankly, I can't imagine them having so many kids either. Not now, anyway. Maybe if they had got back together way back when (like in this story), they'd have a handful… but meh, the more the merrier!_

_Expect the unexpected my dears… and I have a checklist of ends that need to be tied and things that I want to bring up in this story, so I'm sensing out chapters ranging into the low teens… just so you know… on with the story!_

**5 years, 10 months before the birthday**

"Lorelai, I'm just taking Dan and Hew up to the Elementary School to play some baseball," Luke called to his wife as he and his two sons headed to the front door of their house.

"Mkay! We'll be back from shopping in a couple of hours!" Lorelai called back.

"Try not to spend too much money!"

"That's a pointless demand Luke!" Rory called from upstairs.

"Bye!" Luke, Dan and Hew escaped out the door, and Jay sat on the couch her knees hugged to her chest, a pout on her face. She wished she could've gone too, but as usual, she was stuck with shopping. Lorelai and Rory came down the stairs, all ready to go.

"You ready to go hun?" Lorelai asked Jay. She nodded, and got up. Amie came out of her room at that moment with a smile, and headed out shopping with her mother and sisters.

**2 weeks before the birthday**

Jay threw the tennis ball hard against the wall of the Elementary School, and caught it quickly as it came back to her. She threw it just as hard again, and caught it. She kept throwing and catching, throwing and catching, a monotonous pattern that calmed her and helped her think. She often came out here, to be alone with her thoughts, a thing she'd been needing recently.

"Sick of it yet?" A voice said, approaching her. She looked to her right, and there was Tom, walking towards her with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Not nearly," she replied, throwing and catching the ball again.

"You're pretty good," he commented. Jay chuckled.

"What makes you think that?"

"You haven't dropped a catch in 20 minutes. And you're throwing with your left hand."

"Well I'm left handed."

"No you're not," he replied. Jay laughed.

"Yeah you're right, I'm not. Have you been watching me?" she asked coyly.

"I had to drop my little sister off at her concert practice," he explained, only turning a little red.

"I see," Jay replied, still throwing and catching away.

"You do this a lot?" he asked, sitting down and leaning against the wall.

"Sometimes, when I want to clear my mind," she replied, concentrating on what she was doing.

"Why here?" he asked, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"When I was younger, my dad and brothers would always play baseball on the front lawn and my mom, sisters and I would watch them from the porch. I always wanted to join in, but never did. After a few broken windows, dad decided it was best to move the activity to the Elementary School, and mom, Rory, Amie and I would always go shopping or something while they did so. I wanted to go play baseball with my dad and brothers, but because I was a girl, I had to go shopping instead. See, I was a tomboy as a kid, I liked sports and stuff, but never really got a chance to do them. If I asked dad to go he'd say it was a 'guy thing' and I should go shopping with my mom and sisters. That's why I started coming here. I liked throwing a ball around, and this way I could, without the hassle of my family," Jay said, stopping her throwing and going to sit down next to Tom.

"I'm suddenly feeling very lucky having a small family," Tom replied. Jay let out a small laugh and smiled.

"Don't get me wrong, I love them all, but sometimes you just sorta get lost in the bustle of it all."

They sat quietly for a moment, both just taking in their own thoughts. Jay smiled a little and leaned against Tom, nudging his shoulder.

"But hey, that's enough unloading from me today," she said playfully, as Tom turned his head to look at her. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Jay wanted nothing more than for him to kiss her. But he didn't, and she turned her head away, embarrassed. She looked straight ahead, and walking towards her was a familiar figure. A huge grin broke out across her face and she got up, rushing towards them.

"Jon!" she cried happily, and threw her arms around his neck. He laughed and spun her around before pulling back.

"Let me take a good look at you," he said holding her back so he could look her over. "My, my haven't you grown up Jayne Danes!"

Jay blushed a little and laughed, swatting his shoulder, "Jon Ruski what are you doing here!"

"I just dropped my little sister off at production practice. She somehow managed to land herself the lead, again. But that's our little Michaela, hey?" Jon said.

"No, I mean what are you doing _here_, in Stars Hollow!" Jay demanded, still gobsmacked that her old friend was here.

"We're back from California for six months. Dad was temporarily transferred to the Hartford branch, and we still had the house here… so… here I am!" Jon explained.

"You'll be going back to Stars Hollow High I presume?" Jay asked, still grinning widely.

"Of course. We're not all rich snobs like you Jay," he said playfully and she gasped and slapped him on the arm.

"You have not changed a bit," she laughed.

"It's been a while. A year," he said.

"Too long," she replied, before wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. A cough broke them apart, and there was Tom, standing there rather shyly.

"Oh, Tom!" Jay said, "this is my best friend Jon Ruski, Jon, this is Tom Ritter."

"Always nice to meet new friends of Jay," Jon said, sharing a warm smile. Tom just smiled and nodded. They were silent for a minute, and Jay could start to feel the tension.

"So, um, Jon, Tom goes to Stars Hollow High," she commented.

"Oh, you like?" Jon asked. Tom shrugged.

"It's a school, you know?"

"Yeah I get what you mean," Jon nodded. They stood there in silence for another moment.

"So, ah… I better get home," Jay said.

"Yeah me too."

"Yeah."

"Welcome back Jon," Jay said hugging him tightly and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Good to be back," he smiled.

**2 weeks after the birthday**

"What have they done now, Principal Marcy?" Luke asked as he entered the Principal's office at Stars Hollow Junior High, to find Hew and Larissa Doose sitting down, arms crossed, and Larissa's mother (also Taylor's daughter) Patria, by her side. Luke had always found the divorced Patria a rather attractive woman, long wavy blonde hair and deep brown eyes. There had been many a time in his younger days that he had considered asking her out, but she was Taylor's daughter, and Luke did not want to spark any voluntary involvement with Taylor. He still found her appealing, the forbidden fruit, but he loved his wife dearly, and knew that no daughter of a Doose could make him half as happy as Lorelai did.

"It seems Mr Danes, that your son and Miss Doose were coming to blows in the schoolyard over a poster," the principal informed Luke, sitting back in his chair, his arms crossed and his heavy brow furrowed.

"A poster?" Luke said, appalled.

"It was about another stupid festival," Hew spat, his arms still crossed tightly. Larissa stuck her tongue out at him, and he returned it.

"Matthew! Larissa! That is enough!" the principal barked. "You're acting like a pair of six year-olds! If these fights continue, I shall have to suspend the both of you! Mr Danes, Ms Doose, I trust you shall take appropriate punishment for your respective children into your own hands. As for you two," Principal Marcy said, peering over his thick rimmed glasses, "back to class!"

Both children got up sheepishly, and Patria gave Luke an apologetic smile before steering Larissa out the door.

"I'm sorry Principal Marcy," Luke said leaning in his direction, "this won't happen again."

"It better not," Marcy threatened, before Luke took a grip of his sons shoulder and directed him outside. Once safely out of the office, Luke turned to his son his face contorted with anger.

"What exactly is going on!" he demanded. Hew crossed his arms defiantly.

"Larissa tried to put up a stupid poster about a festival," Hew pouted.

"On a school noticeboard?"

"Yeah."

"Then what the hell is your problem! I've told you, you can get angry if she tries to put them up in the diner, but not a public noticeboard! Know when to pick your battles!" Luke yelled in a whisper.

"She said she was gonna put one up on the diner door after hours!" Hew protested.

"That's an obvious bluff! You know the Doose's are always in bed by 9pm."

"She said she was going to sneak out!"

"A Doose breaking the rules? I don't think so," Luke said.

"Well… she's stupid!" Hew protested.

"You're lucky your mother was busy and I came instead – she would have blown a gasket!"

"And that's not what you're doing right now?"

"Don't get smart, son. If this happens again they'll be no softball for a month."

"WHAT!"

"I mean it! This has got to stop. Now go on, get back to class. I have a diner to run," Luke said, pushing his son off in the direction of his classroom.

"Sorry," Hew muttered, before skulking off.

_**A/N: **did you like it? did you not like it? are you indifferent? Let me know without a sweet sweet review! Hehehehe! Yay! Please review…_


	9. 5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 25 minutes...

_**Chapter 9**_

_**A/N: **This is a big one ladies and gents! I mean a BIG one! (Well, big for me anyway. Let's just say it took a long time to write…) I can feel it wrapping up in a few chapters time, so keep reading so you don't get confused! Just a quick word to my faithful reviewers:_

_**ProFfeSseR:** hehehe your always one of the first to review! Yes, definitely, the point is to keep you guessing until the very end…_

_**LukeNlorelaifan:** hello new reviewer! Thanks for reading a commenting – always appreciated!_

_**anonymous:** this isn't exactly the place to ask these questions… but JavaJunkie means Luke and Lorelai!_

_**masamor99:** I work as quickly as I can :D_

_**Petra79:** thanks for reading_

_**Bloomin Daisy: **bigger chapters (hopefully) shall be coming your way soon…_

_**JerseySaint19:** there might be a bit more L/L later on… we'll just have to wait and see!_

_As usual a few less reviews than one can hope for (probably coz this fic is so confusing), but if you're reading I urge you to review! It really makes my day to know you guys are reading my stuff!_

_This chapter is pretty much about Emily and her relationship with the family… I just sorta felt that I needed to explain how their situation was… enjoy!_

**  
5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 25 minutes after the birthday**

"I promise it won't be forever. I'll come back."

"No you won't."

"I promise."

**  
2 days before the birthday**

Lorelai sat on the couch, nervously jiggling her leg. Just waiting, sitting and waiting, and jiggling that leg. A knock on the door immediately snapped her into action. She jumped up from the couch and walked quickly towards the stairs.

"Kids, she's here!" Lorelai called, clapping her hands to hurry them along. Within a few moments Hew came bounding down the stairs with Rory, Marty and Lori in tow, and Luke, Amie and Jay emerged from the kitchen vicinity.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry," Lorelai said, quickly lining them up in age order, Rory and Marty closest to the door with Lori. Lorelai thought it best to open to a cute baby. That would surely keep Emily in a good mood.

"Hew, what is wrong with your sweater?" Lorelai fussed, pulling down the sleaves of his sweater. "And what's that on your face? Hew, you're 12 years old, can't you eat without getting food all over yourself?" she said, quickly wiping a smudge of chocolate spread off Hew's cheek.

"Geez," Amie muttered, "I feel like the Vontrapp family."

Luke stood a foot behind Lorelai as she took a deep breath, and quickly opened the door.

"Hi mom," she said with a false smile.

"Lorelai," she replied, "Luke."

"Hi Emily," Luke said giving a small hesitant wave which he immediately regretted. Emily looked at him blankly before quickly turning her attention to Rory.

"Hello Rory, wonderful to see you again," she said with a smile.

"Nice to see you too Grandma," Rory replied politely.

"And Marty, still keeping my granddaughter safe I assume?" Emily questioned.

"Of course Mrs Gilmore."

"Oh and look at this little one!" Emily cooed to Lori who was sitting comfortably in her daddy's arms, "My hasn't she grown."

"She's two now, grandma," Rory informed.

"Children are wonderful at that age. I wish I could've said the same for your mother," Emily added nonchalantly. Lorelai visibly winced, and Luke gave her a look of sympathy.

"So, um, how's dad doing mom?" Lorelai asked, quickly trying to turn the conversation around.

"Fine, as usual," Emily replied without turning around, "he's on a business trip in Paris."

"Well that's… nice," Lorelai responded.

"Jayne, you're looking tall," Emily said as she moved on from Lori.

"Ah, mom, that's Amie," Lorelai said awkwardly.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry, you two just look so alike!" Emily apologised to the twins.

"That's okay," Amie said, "people get us confused all the time."

"Well you shouldn't be confused by your own family. My deepest apologies."

"It's alright grandma, really," Jay said nervously. Emily moved on, and coming to Hew, she looked down her nose. She recalled this one _very_ clearly. He was the muddy baseball playing hoodlum.

"And Matthew," Emily said slightly snobbishly. "Are you still playing… baseball?"

"Not today, grandma," Hew replied, his hands clasped tightly behind his back, trying his best to be good, not forgetting his last encounter with this grandmother.

"Well, good." Emily moved on and looked a little confused when Hew was the end of the line.

"Where's the older boy?" she asked.

"Dan, mom. Your grandson's name is Dan," Lorelai replied, crossing her arms angrily.

"Of course," Emily replied unflappably.

"Ah, he's at college Emily. He said he'd try and make it back this evening," Luke added.

"That's right, he's at Yale. I should remember, I am paying his tuition after all," she replied flippantly. Everyone in the family's eyes immediately widened.

"What?" Jay let slip out.

"Mom, can I speak to you outside for a minute," Lorelai said through gritted teeth.

"Is it really necessary Lorelai?" Emily replied.

"_Yes_, it's necessary," Lorelai said, nodding her head in the direction of the kitchen. Emily reluctantly followed her.

"Come on, lets watch some TV, huh?" Luke suggested, quickly ushering everyone into the living room.

"Grandma's paying for Dan's tuition?" Rory asked Luke quietly.

"Let's not talk about it right now Rory, I've got to get everyone away from the inevitable blow-up," Luke said, lightly pushing Hew towards the couch and turning the TV on loud enough to cover any loud voices from the porch.

**  
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday**

Rory sat on the couch, quietly studying, as Hew sat next to her, staring up at her, a gurgley expression on his face. Dan was outside playing with his soccer ball, and the girls were in their room playing with their dolls. Luke and Lorelai had gone out for the day, and asked Rory, who had decided to come home for the weekend, to watch the kids for them. Lorelai was hesitant about leaving baby Hew, but Luke had convinced her that Rory was responsible enough to look after her little brothers and sisters for a couple of hours.

Rory tapped her pen against her lips, deep in thought, and tucked her hair behind her ears. Hew let out a small gurgle, and Rory turned to look at him with a smile.

"Got something to say there buddy?" she asked. The baby just smiled in reply.

"Rory! Sugar!" Babette called frantically, as she came rushing through the slightly ajar front door.

"Hey Babette," Rory said, and noticing her worried expression, added "what's the matter?"

"It's apricot. She's stuck under the couch! Maury tried to get her out, but his weak old bones just aren't strong enough anymore, and we need a young hotsie-totsie like yourself to help get her out," Babette said in a panting mess.

"Of course, of course I'll help," Rory said, getting up. She followed Babette out the door, and on the way, grabbed Dan.

"Dan, can you please watch Hew and your sisters for a minute while I go and help Babette? I won't be long, it'll just be for a second, I promise," Rory said. Dan nodded and headed on inside as Rory rushed over to Babette's house.

**  
2 days before the birthday**

"What do you think you're doing?" Lorelai said, as her and Emily reached outside.

"What are you talking about Lorelai?" Emily replied with a frustrated sigh.

"Yale! Why did you tell everyone about paying for Dan to go to Yale!"

"I didn't _tell everyone_ Lorelai, I just mentioned it," Emily said nonchalantly.

"We had an agreement not to tell the kids and Rory, mom, you broke that agreement," Lorelai replied.

"There was never such an agreement."

"Yes there was! This was important to me and Luke, it was important that we kept it quiet," Lorelai said angrily.

"Why, because you didn't want anyone else to know that once again, you needed help with money?" Emily replied bitterly. Lorelai winced at the bite in her mother's voice.

"That's not it at all -"

"I think it is, Lorelai. You're too proud to let anyone know that you need help," Emily said in a know-it-all tone.

"You can't just come in here and disrupt our lives with this, it's just… wrong," Lorelai argued.

"I didn't come to disrupt anything! I came to see my grandchildren, who you so obviously try to keep from me."

"That's not true!"

"Your grandfather and I hardly ever see them anymore. We never usually speak to them, except on public holidays. I just want to keep in touch with my family," Emily reasoned.

"That's not it mom, that's not it at all. I know you, and I know that there's always an ulterior motive. There's always been."

**  
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday**

Emily turned into Maple Street with determination. She was going to talk some sense into that daughter of hers. She was purposely avoiding Friday night dinners, and was keeping Emily's grandchildren away from her. She pulled into the driveway to notice no car there. Deciding to check if there was someone home anyway, she got out of the car and headed to the front door. She knocked on it twice before it was opened.

"Grandma?" Dan said, through the door.

"Hello Daniel," Emily replied, "may I come in?" Dan nodded and opened the door wider, allowing for Emily to enter. She walked into the living room, but noticed no Lorelai or Luke.

"Is your mother home?" Emily asked. Dan shook his head.

"They went to New York for today," he added. Emily turned to him, slightly shocked.

"Are you here alone?" she asked. Dan gave a small nod and Emily's eyes widened.

"I don't believe it," Emily said, quietly to herself, "how could Lorelai leave her small children alone?"

"Where are your sisters?" Emily asked the quiet boy.

"They're in their room," he replied. Emily gave a small nod and stood in thought for a moment, before turning to face Dan with a smile.

"How would you like to go get some ice cream?"

**  
2 days before the birthday**

"You always do this Lorelai, whenever I try to get to know my grandchildren, you always come in and accuse me of something terrible!" Emily protested.

"It's happened before. I don't trust you, I don't trust you around them, around anyone in this family," Lorelai said coldly.

"What about Daniel, then? Why did you come to me when you so obviously don't want me anywhere near your life?" Emily asked.

"That was Dan's idea. He needed the money, and suggested it. I didn't want to, but he's my son, and I had to put my own stuff with you aside to help him," Lorelai replied. "He's my _son_."

**  
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday**

Rory walked quickly up the steps of the porch and through the front door. She headed into the living room.

"Sorry I took so long Dan, I -" she cut herself short noticing there was no one in the room. "Dan?" she called. She walked towards the stairs and called up them, but still, no reply.

"Dan!" her eyes widened and she walked quickly to Jay and Amie's room to find the room empty, except for their dolls lying on the floor, abandoned.

"Oh god."

**  
2 days before the birthday**

"Why do you hate me so much, Lorelai? What did I do that made you want to hurt me this badly?" Emily argued.

"I don't want to hurt you," Lorelai reasoned.

"Then why are you doing all of this? Why are you keeping my grandchildren from me? Why are you trying to block me out of every aspect of your life? I don't understand it!" Emily protested. Lorelai simply crossed her arms. Emily knew what that look meant.

"That was over 10 years ago Lorelai," Emily said quietly, "and you know I didn't mean any harm by it."

"That didn't stop you," Lorelai replied, mirroring Emily's volume.

"I was concerned."

"Well, it's too late now."

**  
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday**

Lorelai slammed the car door and ran towards the porch. Rory ran out of the front door and met her at the bottom steps.

"What happened? Tell me exactly what happened," Lorelai panted.

"I was sitting watching Hew, and Babette came over and she said she needed help saving Apricot, I went over for a few minutes, and when I got back the were gone," Rory said, her brow furrowed worriedly.

"I'm gonna go back into town, see if anyone's seen them," Luke said, getting back into the car. Lorelai nodded as Luke headed out the driveway.

"Mom, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I'm so sorry," Rory said, her voice cracking. Lorelai pulled her into her arms.

"It's alright hun, it's not your fault," Lorelai comforted, rubbing Rory's back, tears coming to her eyes. Lorelai quickly brushed them away and pulled out of the hug.

"Come on, let's go see if Mr and Mrs Brodsky saw anything," Lorelai said, flicking into almost-frantic-parent mode, grabbing Rory's hand and leading her in the opposite direction to Babette and Morey's house.

**  
2 days before the birthday**

"Lorelai, I'm your mother. Can't you just forgive me?" Emily pleaded.

"It's not that easy."

"Well can't you at least try, Lorelai, just try to forget about it?"

"I can't forget about it mom, it was horrible what you did, and it hurt. All those things you said really hurt, and I wondered why even my own mother didn't trust me, I – I mean…" Lorelai took a deep shaky breath, trying to fight off tears, "why have you never trusted me? Why have you never trusted my judgement? You're always interfering at every turn, telling me what I'm doing wrong – can't you just let me be? Please?" she choked. Emily looked at her daughter, who was nearly in tears, and gave a small sigh before walking down the porch steps and out towards her car.

"Oh, and Lorelai," Emily said, before turning around and walking back to Lorelai.

"Yeah?"

"Give these to Jay and Amie," she said, handing Lorelai two small, neatly wrapped parcels, before turning to go. A bittersweet smile came to Lorelai's face as she realised this was the first time Emily had ever used her granddaughter's nicknames.

**  
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday**

Lorelai stormed into her parents' house to find Emily in the living room with Dan, Jay, Amie and Hew.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Lorelai demanded.

"Lorelai!"

"Kids, go wait in the car," Lorelai said, and her children quietly obliged.

"Lorelai, you shouldn't talk like that in front of your children -"

"What the hell were you doing, taking my kids?" Lorelai commanded.

"They were at home by themselves -"

"They weren't by themselves, Rory was with them."

"Well she wasn't when I got there," Emily reasoned.

"That's not the point mom! What did you think you were doing! You can't just take someone else's children! Luke and I were worried sick, and you sure as hell scared Rory!"

"You can't just leave your children Lorelai, they're your responsibility. You're letting them run wild in your house, you and that diner man obviously have no control over them whatsoever. You need to be watching them at all times, especially at that age –"

"Don't you _dare_ tell me how to raise my kids, and speak so lowly of Luke. You are in no place to tell me what to do," Lorelai scowled.

"I'm their grandmother, I was keeping their safety in my best interests."

"Their safety? Their _safety_! They barely know you! You're almost a stranger to them!"

"And who's fault is that Lorelai?" Emily accused.

"Don't you _dare_ try to pinpoint this on me! You came to my house and you… took my children! What on earth was going on in your head to make you do that," Lorelai said, confusion and anger in her voice.

"I didn't want them to be at home alone, wondering when you would return -"

"They _knew_ what time we were coming home, Rory was watching out for them, they were doing FINE!" Lorelai said angrily.

"Lorelai, I -"

"No, stop. Just STOP mother. I can't believe you would do something like this. I can't believe you would stoop so low as to physically try to take my children away from me. I thought, maybe… maybe you cared just a _little _about me… maybe _somewhere_ deep down you maybe… loved me… but this, this, mother is the end. It stops here. I don't want you anywhere near me or my children ever again," Lorelai said, her voice breaking, before storming out of the house leaving Emily standing in the hallway, shell-shocked.

_**  
A/N:** Well… there's another chapter. Let me know what you think with a friendly (or even not-so-friendly) review. They are ALWAYS appreciated (especially the ones with constructive criticism in them!)_


	10. 3:43am the day after the birthday

_**Chapter 10**_

_**A/N: **I'm baaaaaaack! How long's it been this time? A month? Well, too long, that's for sure. This chapter is only short, but I haven't had a lot of time to write in the last month… On a note I'm sure you'll all enjoy, I have made it my holiday project to finish this fic! Yaya! That means you can expect lots of updates in the next two weeks. Anyway…_

_**scubaluver:** sorry… this chapter is back to jay and amie! lol! But thankyou, I am also enjoying hankering down into the 'origins' of the family, if you will._

_**ProFfeSseR:** good to know your addictions ;)_

_**Bloomin Daisy:** wait no more my dear! This chapter is twins central._

_**javajunkie219:** its all coming together soon, trust me… I'm so tempted to just write in everything that happens right NOW… but I know I must play the waiting game, and put it in when the time is right. :D_

_**marva:** well, what else is there but Lorelai yelling at Emily? 5.17?_

_**JerseySaint19:** it is hard to get your head around… I can't even do it sometimes! But nice work managing to understand it… lol!_

_**LukeNlorelaifan:** switching around is what I like to do best… just read my 24 fic 'new beginnings'! lol! That made even less sense than this does…_

_**BuffyxFan:** lol well my friends always tell me I should change the names and places and stuff and turn them into novels… but then they would make no sense! And where's the fun in that! Fan fic all the way! I just like to play with other people's bits and pieces…. Oh! Dirty! Oh yes, and I haven't really come up with one central character… though I spose it's probably Jay. I tried to make it more about the whole family, but I just love writing all her little entanglements… that's why you have all the random chapters about other family members!_

_**lukelaiandroryndean:** good!_

_**Beeno:** lol I've written out a timeline for myself, where I've put everything in order so I don't have too many inconsistencies… thanks for ur review!_

_Unlike Lorelai, I **DO** do cutsie symbols. :) :D ;) :p_

**  
3:43am the day after the birthday**

Lorelai was rudely awoken by the ringing of the phone. Luke rolled over and groaned as she picked up the phone.

"Shh, go back to sleep," she said to him rubbing his shoulder.

"This better be good," she grumbled into the phone.

"Mom?" a voice sniffled down the phone. Lorelai immediately sat up straight.

"Sweetie, honey are you alright?"

"Mommy, it's Jay," the voice choked.

"Jay, talk to mommy, what happened?" Lorelai asked, concerned.

"No, no it's Jay, mom, there was an accident. Jay's hurt."

"Hurt? Oh my god, Amie honey, where are you?"

"At the hospital."

"Oh my god. Luke, Luke," Lorelai said, shaking Luke awake. He mumbled and rolled over.

"Luke, there's been an accident. Jay and Amie are at the hospital," she said,

"What!" Luke replied, sitting up.

"Amie, sweetie, sit tight, dad and I will be there in a flash," Lorelai said into the phone before hanging up. She quickly jumped out of bed, with Luke already up and in action.

"I'm gonna go wake Dan to tell him what's going on, and get him to keep an eye on Hew," Luke said, slipping on his shoes, "go start the car, I'll be out in a second."

Lorelai looked up at him, her eyes welling with tears. He pulled her into his arms.

"They'll be alright," he said, hugging her tightly, "our girls'll be alright."

**  
5 months, 3 days, 8 hours and 10 minutes after the birthday**

"Hello?"

"Jay?" the voice asked down the phone.

"Yeah."

"Hey. It's me."

"Hey. What's going on?"

"Meet me at the school in an hour."

Jay was silent for a moment. She knew what that meant. "It's happening isn't it?"

"Yeah… it is.'

**  
6 days before the birthday**

Jay walked down the street quickly, checking her watch every two seconds. She was running late for work again, and Luke would fire her if she was late again. Well, he'd at least threaten to fire her.

"Jay!" a voice called from behind her. Hoping it was someone she didn't like, Jay quickened her pace.

"Jay! Wait up!" she turned around to find Tom rushing towards her. Her face softened and she stopped, waiting for him to catch up.

"Hey. How's it going?" he asked casually, a little breathless.

"Not too bad, I'm actually late for work," she pointed out.

"Oh. Well… ah, I haven't seen you around for a while," he stated.

"Yeah I've been really busy… with Jon coming back and everything," she said a bit quieter than she had intended.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. You guys are, ah… pretty close huh?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, we've been best friends since we were little kids. It's nice that he's back," she replied with a smile. Tom just shifted a little awkwardly. Anyone could see that he was not comfortable with the imminent threat of Jon, but Jay was always oblivious to that sort of situation when it was happening to her.

"Well, I've gotta get to work, so…"

"Yeah. I'll see you 'round," Tom said.

"We'll catch up soon, I promise," Jay replied, gently touching Tom's arm with a smile, before turning around and briskly walking towards the diner.

**  
13 days before the birthday**

Jay swung through her bedroom door with a giddy smile on her face. Amie was sitting on her bed reading a magazine, and looked up when she saw her sister enter the room so happily.

"Why are you so chirpy?" she asked, turning her attention back to the magazine. Jay swung on the doorknob happily.

"He's back!" she said in a sing-song voice.

"Who?" Amie asked.

"Jon Ruski!" Jay giggled.

"What!" Amie said, looking up from her magazine, mouth agape.

"I know isn't it fantastic! I ran into him at the elementary school yesterday… he looks good," she smiled, rushing over to her bed and sitting down, crossing her legs.

"I always told you he was a good-looking boy," Amie replied, going back to her magazine.

"Well you didn't have to tell _me_ that. I just… seeing him again today has just opened a whole new can of worms," Jay said, laying down and letting out a happy sigh.

"Meaning?"

"It's like… the whole crush I had on him is back with a vengeance!" Jay admitted. "Why is it we always have crushes on our best friends?"

"I wouldn't know," Amie said, flicking a page of her magazine, "I've never had a guy best friend. Guys and I, as a general rule, don't have a platonic relationship."

"It's not fair," Jay playfully sulked.

Amie raised and eyebrow and let out a smirky smile, "I so knew you weren't over him."

"Over him? I was never under him, Amie," Jay said sternly.

Amie scoffed in reply. "Way to ruin the moment with a Friends reference."

"What?"

"Never mind. This is so weird… you're all giggly and girly… it's like a MAJOR roll reversal," Amie said, taking out a packet of gum. "Chewy?" she offered.

"Thanks," Jay replied, taking the gum. "I know. I feel like I've become you. Is that meant to be a good thing?"

Amie's mouth dropped open in shock and a laugh escaped. She slapped Jay on the arm.

"You be careful what you say to me, girl!"

"Eww, did I just hear some really bad slang?" Lorelai said, appearing in the doorway of the girl's bedroom. Amie stuck out her tongue.

"What you guys doing?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing…" Jay replied, unconvincingly.

"You guys aren't planning to steal Taylor's hair piece again, are you?" Lorelai asked, eyes narrowed. The girls laughed in reply.

"No," Amie smiled.

"Good. Because I want in next time," Lorelai said.

"We're just talking girly," Jay informed, turning her head around to see her mother.

"Excuse me? Jayne Danes? Talking girly?" Lorelai said, gasping and placing a hand over her heart.

"Make fun all you like, I'll take no notice of it," Jay replied.

"Well, as long as you're talking girly…" Lorelai said, looking out into the hallway to make sure no one was around. "This should work wonders," she said, throwing a block of chocolate onto Jay's bed.

"Yay!" the girls cried in unison. "Thankyou mommy!"

"Don't you mommy me, you broke out of that habit eight years ago," Lorelai said playfully.

"Well, if you want me, I'll be in the kitchen. Your father is fixing the stove and oh how I love to watch him continually hit his head," she laughed heartily as she left the girls alone to their 'girly talk'.

"So," Amie said, turning her attention back to Jay, "what about… Tom?"

"He's so cute and so nice… do I have to choose?" Jay said innocently. Amie laughed.

"You really are turning into me!"

_**A/N:** thanks for reading team… (wha…) I can feel it wrapping up. can you feel it wrapping up? only a few more chapters to go I reckon… let me know what you think! Ooo and hey, while we're at it, why don't you let me know what YOU think happened on the night of the birthday? Love you all!_


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